ROCKLAND — Knox County Commissioners hosted a special meeting with municipal leaders and state legislators, Thursday, December 1, in Commission chambers at the Knox County Courthouse. The purpose was to discuss the Maine County Commissioners Association legislative priorities and the Maine Municipal Association legislative priorities.

Municipal representation included:

Bill Chapman, Rockport Select Board chairman

Jay Feyler, Union town manager

Wes Daniels, Washington selectman

Ann Dean, Washington Town Clerk

Dave Matthews, Owls Head selectman

John Fenner, Appleton selectman

William Lufkin, Washington selectman

William Clayton, Rockland mayor

Andrew Dorr, Vinalhaven town manager

Legislators included:

Dave Miramant, State Senator District 12

John Spear, State Representative District 92

Paula Sutton, State Representative District 95

County commissioners included:

Carol Maines, Commissioner District 1

Richard Parent, Commissioner District 2

Roger Moody, Commission Chair District 3

Andrew Hart, County Administrator

Also Jeff Hermon, of Mt. Vernon, represented the Maine Municipal Association and Chief Deputy Tim Carroll represented the Knox County Sheriff's Office.

Jail costs and overcrowding dominated the conversations. Roger Moody who sits on the board of the Maine County Commissioners Association, brought forward six ideas for the 128th Maine State Legislature. The list was a compilation of Maine's 16 county's priorities.

• Equitable Jail Sentencing
• Phlebotomy Regulation
• Jail Tax Cap
• Revenue from the Legislation of Marijuana for Recreational Use
• Video Arraignments
• Medicare and Medicaid for County Jail Inmates

Jeff Hermon of the Maine Municipal Association put forth the following reasons as factors that increase jail time and costs.

• Overcrowding due to opioid epidemic arrests
• Mental Illness
• Substance abuse and addiction
• Lack of communication and understanding among criminal justice stakeholders
• Delays in court trials and sentencing
• Sending probation violators to county jail, rather than to the state facility where their underlying sentence was imposed
• Lack of discretionary authority on the part of county law enforcement personnel to issue summonses, rather than arrest and put law violators in jail in some cases
• Consecutive sentencing for more than one conviction and other judicial sentencing decisions
• Natural cost increases of goods and services due to changing economies

The Maine Municipal Association touched on the following for their legislative agenda.

• Revenue Sharing
• Homestead Property Tax Exemption
• Tax Exempt Property
• Education
• County Jail Management and Funding
• Economic Development: Broadband Funding
• Marijuana Facilities and Local Land Use Regulation

You can watch the meeting in its entirety for expanded discussion on many of the topics listed.

http://townhallstreams.com/locations/knox-county/events/36508/knox_chambers